The USSR's GOSPLANs were " planning" from above . And markets,
(controlled in various ways)-- existed in the USSR up to its demise.
This is STATE planning but not socialist planning. Western market societies
also have varied forms of planning by the STATE, from So. Korea ,
Mussolini's Italy , to the
USA in WW2 , Japan, etc. and many other examples.today , $250 Billions/yr
Corporate Welfare
( R. Nader's estimate) by the US STATE is part of an indirect form of
limited planning by the
bourgeois STATE. Does this also have anything to do with workers rule or
socialism.?
Of course not..
The Russian Economists, Bukharin, Preobrezenski , later Lieberman, all
recognized
their own contradictions to one degree or another . But not the existence
of a new
Russian /USSR ruling class over the workers of course . ( This did not
prevent the first two from
being shot anyway)There as no such thing ever as any " USSR , INC." as
recent posts
have implied existed there. There was still competition between USSR
plants and
industries for labor and materials and managers were expected to reach
goals--
at least some averged rate of profit playing a key role via each plant and
industry as a whole.
The reactionary Hayek and company were setting up a straw man--Stalin-ism
to assault..
Russia could not cheat the law of value forever. Nor can the others. State
capitalism
has been used as a key prop to shore up waeker capitals in many lands. It
is not
in vogue as much now by rulers as during the 20s, , the Depression and
WW2. But it is not
entirely out of vogue and could be employed more and capitals latest
problems
continue , and/or masses revolt /fight more against the neo-liberal
marketeers
austerity pummelings, or as new power blocs amongst capitals spring up, to
keep
rivals under control-restriction s.
Neil.
